Brownlow winner Dangerfield says he can get even better

AFL: Patrick Dangerfield has a warning for AFL rivals - he can improve.

The morning after he won the Brownlow Medal with a record 35 votes ahead of Sydney's Luke Parker on 26, the Geelong star said he could not afford to stand still and said he must get better.

"I think as soon as, you know, to get to a stage as a player you don't think you can improve at some capacity then it's probably time to give it away," he told reporters.

"So I've got no doubt I've got improvement in myself as I'm sure every other player does in the competition."

Dangerfield polled in 15 games for the season, another record, but said he did not play the game just to get Brownlow votes.

"I don't think any player - I certainly don't - they don't aim to win votes each and every week," he said.

"I play my role for the team and help us improve as a team. It's not a massive focus at the start of the year, it's more about how we can get ourselves in the best position to challenge for a premiership."

Dangerfield said the preliminary final defeat to Sydney was still hurting.

"To have had the season we've had, from which there's some real positives - we lost six games for the entire year, played our best footy against the best sides - but to have just fallen short, it doesn't get any harder than that, that's for sure," he said.

Dangerfield said he had celebrated "long, hard and late" after his Brownlow win.

When asked how late, he added: "It was late for me, 3am is late for me."